GB: Partners
by WayWardWonderer
Summary: When a bust at a bank goes wrong Ray and Egon are trapped inside, injured, with a vengeful ghost. Peter and Winston are on a bust of their own and are unaware of their friends' dire situation. Time and cleverness are all that stand in the way of an angry ghost and the life of a Ghostbuster.
1. Trapped

A series of strange calls had divided the Ghostbusters into two teams that raced through the streets of New York City. Dr. Raymond Stantz and Dr. Egon Spengler had taken on a case revolving around a bank in Manhattan and two ghosts who were attempting to steal money from the vault. Dr. Peter Venkman and Winston Zeddemore had volunteered to check out a nasty hotel guest at the Sedgwick and were now attempting to chase down a spectral horseback rider who was chasing people through Central Park.

Inside the bank Ray and Egon were struggled to wrangle the two ghosts as they tore through the vacated main lobby scattering paper, toppling over chairs and sending dollar bills flying into the air in their destructive wake. Several loose coins littered the ground and overturned chairs created unnecessary obstacles for the two seasoned Ghostbusters to overcome as they deftly maneuvered through the messy bank and take aim at the troublesome ghosts.

"I'll take the one on the left," Ray decided as he threw a trap down on the ground. "keep an eye on his buddy for me."

Egon nodded in silent agreement with the plan. Tightening his grip on the thrower of his proton pack he stepped around the mess with the intent of distracting the second ghost to give Ray an adequate opportunity to catch the first.

The two ghosts, who appeared to be dressed in garb from the 1920s or 1930s, were very interested in the vault and the many valuables contained within. Hovering inside the sturdy metallic chamber the ghosts pulled open locked cabinets with surprising ease with the intent of taking every little thing they could find. With each cabinet door forced open the drawers within were heavily damaged and left in heaps of jagged metal on the floor of the vault.

Ray stepped into the large opening of the vault and looked over to Egon who was standing several feet back with a clear shot of either ghost. "On three," Ray told him as he aimed his own thrower. "one, two... THREE!"

A proton stream fired off from Ray's thrower and easily wrapped itself around the body of the first ghost and held it firm. As soon as the second ghost tried to make a move toward Ray's position Egon unleashed a stream from his own thrower and snagged it before it got away or freed its companion.

"Got him!" Ray called out as he stepped backward toward his trap, skillfully dragging the ghost with him.

"Same!" Egon turned around to walk back toward the trap with the ghost ahead of him, simply so he could see where Ray was standing. The PKE meter clipped to his belt screeched loudly as it suddenly picked up a new reading. "Lower them down!"

Controlling their every movement Ray and Egon worked together to lower the two ghosts down from the air and into the trap.

"Opening the trap!" Ray stomped down on the button allowing the metal doors on the top of the trap to burst open with a beam of white ionized light. "Easy does it, we have them!"

As the bright light enveloped the ghosts Ray stomped down on the release trigger for the trap once more and the trap snapped shut, sealing the destructive ghosts within.

"Two for one!" Ray commented as he holstered his thrower and scooped up the occupied trap from the floor. "Not bad. Let's check in on Peter and Winston." Ray took his radio from the clip on his left shoulder strap and turned it on.

Egon had also holstered his thrower as he unclipped his PKE meter and began scanning the air. "Ray, I don't think we're done here."

"What's going on?" Ray turned off the radio, never having said a word to either Peter or Winston, and returned it to its place on his shoulder strap.

"There has been a spike in the energy levels in a very small period of time." Egon reported as he followed the source of the energy back toward the vault. "Evidence supports the presence of a third ghost, one much stronger than the two Class-3's we've just encountered."

Ray retrieved his thrower as he glanced about the room suspiciously. "How strong is this new ghost?"

"At least a Class-5." Egon replied as he lowered the meter from his gaze, a chilly breeze blew through the bank from inside the vault and stirred up the disheveled papers strewn about through the building. "And it's here."

"Where exactly?"

The chilly breeze suddenly erupted into a powerful gust of icy wind. Egon and Ray ducked down their heads and used their arms to shield their faces as the wind blew papers, coins and even chairs across the floor. A massive shapeless black shadow seeped through the floor of the vault, hovering in midair with a cold aura.

Turning to look at the shadow Ray and Egon watched as the shapeless mass evolved into a humanoid figure completely draped in shadow. The figure had similar clothing to that of the previous two ghosts, although this third ghost's clothes were much darker and appeared to be of a higher quality. A hat on top of the figure's head drooped downward and managed to cast an even deeper shadow over the darkened face, which allowed its burning red eyes to glow with a fiery hatred.

"I imagine that this ghost has ties with the other two." Egon commented as he clipped the meter back onto his belt.

The ghost stared at Ray and Egon fearlessly, almost as if he was studying the two men.

"Well, we need to catch him." Ray powered up his proton pack. "Toss your trap and we'll-"

The ghost slowly shook his head back and forth as if to say 'no'. Casually reaching into his own pocket the ghost revealed a solid black coin. Using his thumb and forefinger the ghost began flipping the coin up into the air and catching it in the same hand, over and over again as he stood his ground inside the vault.

"I don't think he's too worried about us, Ray." Egon observed calmly.

"Then let's give him a reason." Ray took aim and pressed this thumb to the trigger.

The ghost stopped flipping his coin and held it tightly in his fist. Raising his free hand he waved dismissively at the two men and launched another gust of wind that sent them flying backward onto the floor and sliding away from the vault.

Ray sat upright and looked at the ghost annoyed. "That didn't work."

Egon sat up beside Ray. "I think the ghost is more coherent, if not more intelligent than our normal array of ghosts."

"What do you think we should do?"

"Let's trying talking with him." Egon suggested as he got back to his feet. "I'm certain he's here for a reason."

"What reason could a ghost have for destroying a bank?" Ray asked as he too got to his feet and stood at Egon's side. "I don't think the ferryman of the River Styx accepts anything but coins!"

"Charon accepts only gold." Egon confirmed as he recognized the reference to Greek mythology. "This ghost seems to be searching for something and I don't think it's monetary."

The ghost nodded, having understood everything that Ray and Egon had just said, confirming Egon's hunch that the ghost was more intelligent than the ghosts usually reported.

Egon took a step forward and held his voice steady. "May I ask who you are and why you are here?"

The ghost resumed flipping his coin as he looked directly at Egon. A deep, ghastly voice emanated from the ethereal form. ' _I am here for my partners, and I will not leave without them_.'

"Your partners?" Egon asked as he tried to understand the ghost's reason. "The two ghosts we've captured?"

The ghost nodded slowly.

Ray refused to relinquish the trap. Checking the metal clip that held the trap to the base of the proton pack he shifted his position to keep the trap behind him and out of sight. "If we refuse?"

The ghost lifted his free hand again, a surge of psychokinetic energy filled the vault as dropped items on the floor began hovering in the air in front of the ghost. Coins, jewelry, legal documents, broken bits of furniture and jagged metal debris from the destroyed metal cabinets all floated in midair between the angry ghost and the two Ghostbusters. ' _I will not leave without my partners_.'

Egon knew releasing the two ghosts was not an option. "We can't do that, it's too dangerous for everyone involved." He tried to explain the situation succinctly. "We're moving your partners from this building and placing them in our containment unit. You should join them."

' _You're imprisoning my partners_?' The ghost questioned hostilely. The various items hovering under the influence of his energy all turned toward the two Ghostbusters as if taking aim.

"They won't being imprisoned." Egon glanced over to Ray as his side and motioned for him to take a step back away from the angered ghost. "They will be placed in a form of suspended animation until we can find a way to- "

' _Sounds like prison to me_.' The ghost persisted, turning the offended objects in Egon's direction.

The front doors of the bank suddenly slammed shut and locked as the ghost's incredible power stretched all through the building. Ray and Egon turned their heads quickly and looked toward the large doors that had been sealed by psychokinetic energy.

' _Free my partners_ ', the ghost pressed adamantly. ' _this is your last chance_.'

"Or..." Ray switched on the power to his proton pack. "you can join them and we go about our business peacefully."

"Ray, don't push him." Egon cautioned wisely. "This is still a Class-5 entity."

' _Perhaps you need a little persuasion_.' The ghost tightened his hand into a fist and sent the floating objects screaming forward with a terrifying speed at the two Ghostbusters.

"Ray!" Egon stepped in front of Ray, worried that he may have provoked the ghost into violence.

Instinctively Ray ducked down as a rush of debris passed over head, just barely missing him where he knelt. Turning to look to where the debris had flown he stared in awe at the many different objects now embedded in the far wall like arrows in the center of a target. Realizing the severity of the ghost's threat he turned his attention back to both the ghost and to Egon, who was standing tall between himself and said ghost.

"Spengler? You alright!?" Ray asked frantically as he watched Egon standing motionless in the epicenter of the debris launch.

Egon stared blankly at the ghost as he took a single step back. Looking down at his chest his focus became transfixed on the large chunk of metal now sticking out of his left upper chest, adjacent to his shoulder. Knees buckling Egon crumbled down to the ground and fell dazed onto his back.

"Spengler!" Ray managed to catch Egon's head and neck before he hit the ground. The splash of red blood staining through the jumpsuit around the metal that pierced into the flesh beneath made Ray's eyes go wide with panic. "Oh, God! Egon!"

The ghost watched the duo as Ray unfastened the straps on Egon's proton pack, slipped it from his back and shoulders, before pulling Egon's body up onto his legs. Egon's head and neck rested against Ray's lap while Ray tore open the bloodied jumpsuit and tore open the fabric of the black t-shirt beneath. The metal had stabbed Egon's left pectoral muscle and was resting dangerously close to his heart. Blood seeped from the wound, pooling into an ever expanding crimson puddle on the floor under Egon's body.

"Oh, shit..." Ray hastily ungloved his hands; not wanting any contamination he may have come into contact with to be transferred to Egon's exposed injury, and pressed his hand down beside the foreign object in hopes that the applied pressure could stem the bleeding. Using his opposite hand he cradled Egon's head and pressed his fingers under Egon's jaw against his carotid artery to measure his pulse. "Hang on man, I'll get you some help."

' _If you want to help your partner_ ,' the ghost taunted wickedly. ' _then you need to help mine_.'

Ray stared up at the menacing ghost with abject horror. For the first time since the creation of the proton pack Ray felt completely helpless in the face of a ghost. The weight of the pack on his back seemed twice as much in that moment of helplessness, the radio on his shoulder strap seemed to mock him as the prospect of calling for help was so near, yet seemed so far away.

"I... I can't do that." Ray tore his gaze from the ghost and down to Egon's face. "I won't risk anyone else getting hurt because of them!"

Egon was very pale and cold from blood loss. Dark circles formed under his glazed over, half opened eyes. A small trickle of blood streamed from the corner of his mouth down his face, dripping rhythmically onto Ray's hand with every beat of his racing heart.

' _Then you've condemned your partner to death_.' The ghost hissed maliciously. ' _I look forward to his company on the other side_.'

"No, he's not going to die!" Ray defended with unbreakable determination. He pressed his hand down onto Egon's chest harder, the escaping blood flowing out from beneath his palm and between his rigid fingers. "He'll pull through."

' _I have waited a lifetime to reunite with my old crew_ ,' the ghost expressed solemnly. ' _I am a very patient man_ , _I can wait until your resolve breaks. You're friend, however, cannot_.'

Ray's strong hands, sticky with blood, could feel Egon's rapid pulse under his fingertips and his heart beating under his palm. The injured physicist was breathing slowly and deeply, each breath seemingly his last.

"I need to contact Peter and Winston."

 _ **...to be continued...**_


	2. Freed

Holding his hand firmly over the bleeding wound on Egon's chest Ray lifted his other hand away from its place cradling Egon's head and reached for the radio secured to his shoulder strap. Turning the radio on he attempted to make contact with Peter and Winston who were somewhere outside the locked up bank.

"Venkman, Zeddemore, can you hear me?"

The ghost watched inquisitively as Ray sought help. ' _So you do understand the value of partners_.'

"It's Ray, come on, answer!"

The radio crackled in response to Peter's calm voice. 'What's going on Ray? Me and 'Zed' finished up in Central Park, need a hand in the bank?'

"Peter, this is serious! A ghost, Class-5, has sealed us inside the bank and Egon..." Looking down at Egon's bloodied chest that was struggling to rise and fall Ray had to swallow a nauseated lump in his throat. "Egon's in bad shape."

'What do you mean by "bad", Ray?' Peter's voice had shifted from jovial to stern in a matter of seconds. 'What happened to Egon?'

"He's hurt, and he needs medical attention, NOW."

Winston interjected on the conversation. 'How can we help?'

"The ghost wants us to release his partners, in exchange he'll unlock the doors so Egon can get the help he needs."

There was a thick silence over the radio. Ray knew that Peter and Winston were currently discussing the matter at hand, weighing the pros vs cons of releasing ghosts in favor of their friend's life. If the Ghostbusters were willing to free captured ghosts as a form of bartering, what would prevent any powerful spectral entity from using human life as leverage for power?

'Ray,' Peter's voice returned over the radio, still calm but now determined. 'we're going to head out to the bank. Do what you can to take care of Egon, we'll find a way to get you guys out of there!'

"I know you will..."

'And Ray?'

"Yeah?"

'Be sure to keep your radio ON, I don't like it when people never answer the phone.'

"Right... sure." Ray couldn't figure out what Peter was up to, but left his radio on and returned it to his shoulder strap. "Egon, Peter and Winston are on their way. Just hold on for me, buddy."

Egon blinked slowly without a word. He took in a deep, shuddering breath and released it slowly as he struggled to remain conscious and coherent.

' _You have partners on the outside_ ,' the ghost commented sympathetically. ' _you are lucky. My partners were not as fortunate_.'

"Why are you so focused on freeing your friends?" Ray subconsciously wrapped his hand under Egon's head again. "Who are you?"

The ghost bowed his slowly as he recounted his tale. ' _I was an honest man until a dishonest era forced me to do everything possible to survive_.' Lifting his head he looked into Ray's eyes with resentment and hatred. ' _In order to provide for my family I resorted to robbery and violence. My partners, my brothers, stood by my side and risked their own lives just to ensure my family still had a roof over their heads_.'

"You were a bank robbery during the Great Depression?" Ray was well versed in New York history, it didn't take much time to line up the pieces. "And you were gunned down during your final heist, weren't you?"

The ghost resumed flipping the coin as he looked away from Ray. ' _I survived. My partners carried me to our safe house. Only when they left to find help were they taken in. The dirty pigs, who were earning a fair wage within the law, decided that my partners deserved to be beaten to death in an alleyway. Those pigs were never caught and I bled to death in the safe house_.'

"This bank, this is the last place you three were together. Your last job."

' _My partners never failed me, I will never fail my partners_.' The ghost reiterated. ' _Free them now and I will let you help your partner._ '

Ray was tempted to open the trap on his belt, tempted to give into the ghost's demands for the sake of Egon; but he knew that by giving in he'd be giving any other offending ghost a strategy that could be used against the Ghostbusters in the future.

"If I-"

'Ray, come in.' Peter's voice crackled loudly over the radio. 'We're outside. Tell us what's going on.'

"Peter," Ray clicked on his radio, reluctantly taking his hand away from Egon's cradled head again. "I'm with Egon. He's barely conscious and he's lost a lot of blood. The ghost is still insisting that he'll unlock the doors if I release his partners."

'So you currently have his partners in your traps? They were already in the bank?'

"Well, yes and no. They were here, but we got them both in one trap not..." Ray trailed off as an idea popped into his head.

'Well, maybe in this one instance,' Peter could tell from the sound of Ray's voice that he had caught on. 'you can give the ghost the one trap.'

"Yeah, I think you're right." Ray turned his attention back to the ghost. "You seem like you're a man of your word, if I give you the trap do you promise you'll unlock the doors and let us leave?"

' _I swear it_.'

"Okay, I'll slide the trap over to you and open it." Reaching back toward his belt he let his fingers pass by the occupied trap with the two ghosts and over to the unoccupied trap clipped to Egon's belt at his side. "Here it is." Ray held up the trap for the ghost to see.

' _Slide it over here._ ' The ghost commanded.

"Alright. Here it comes." Sitting the trap down on the floor Ray pushed the wheeled metal box toward the ghost and held the released trigger in his hand.

The ghost approached the trap ready to greet his partners. Hovering just inched away from the trap Ray held his breath and squeeze the trigger. The trap opened up with a beam of ionized light that drew the ghost down into the trap, alone.

' _You dirty backstabber!_ ' The ghost bellowed as he was drawn inexorably into the trap, his psychokinetic influence over the building drained as he was sealed away.

The trap snapped shut as it imprisoned the ghost within.

"I'm sorry." Ray apologized to the ghost in the smoldering trap. "But I had to do it."

The large front doors of the bank clicked as the locks opened. Peter and Winston pushed open the doors aggressively and rushed inside to where Ray was kneeling on the floor with Egon.

"Oh man!" Peter spotted the pooling blood and grimaced as he knelt at Ray's side. He put his hand on Egon's arm sympathetically. "You weren't kidding..."

Winston knelt down next to Egon and pressed his fingers against the side of his neck. "Thready pulse. We called 911 shortly after we arrived, the paramedics will be here soon."

Egon didn't respond to Winston's touch and continued to stare blankly with glazed over eyes.

Sirens outside the building grew louder as the summoned emergency services drew near.

"Ray," Peter was trying to tear the empathetic engineer's focus from their injured friend. "what happened? How did that ghost do this to him?"

"He..." Ray shook his head. "He used psychokinetic energy to... to..."

"It's okay, Ray." Peter kept his tone even as the sirens grew even louder then suddenly silenced as the ambulance arrived and parked outside in front of the bank. "Help is here, Egon will fine."

A duo of paramedics, one was a blonde woman in her late thirties and the other was a young Latino man in his early twenties, entered the bank with a gurney rolling with them.

The female paramedic took a knee beside Egon and pressed her fingers against his neck while eyeing the bleeding wound beneath Ray's hand. She noticed that Egon was still somewhat conscious, his eyes opened and slowly blinking. "Sir? Sir can you hear me?"

Egon didn't answer.

She looked up at Ray after receiving no response from her patient. "What happened to him? Who did this?"

Ray didn't know how to answer the questions, it was too incredible for anyone who wasn't a Ghostbuster to understand. "He was... stabbed."

"Yes, I can see that." The paramedic took the stethoscope from her around her neck and ran it over Egon's chest to listen to his heart. "Weak breath sounds on the left. How long ago did this happen?"

"Maybe... twenty minutes."

"Twenty minutes?" She sounded almost disappointed. While her partner checked Egon's blood pressure she took a pressure bandage and began pressing it down on the wound around Ray's hand. "Slowly lift your hand while I secure the bandage."

Ray nodded as he gingerly lifted his cold hand away from Egon's even colder chest.

The male paramedic spoke up. "B.P. is low, heart rate is high."

"Let's get him loaded onto the gurney and out of here." She instructed her partner before returning to Ray. "Is he allergic to any medication?"

"N-no." Ray cleared his throat and repeated his answer. "No, he isn't allergic to any medication."

Winston assisted the two paramedics as they loaded Egon from the floor and onto the gurney. "Where are you taking him?"

"Presbyterian." The young man answered.

"We'll follow."

Peter watched as Winston escorted the gurney back out of the bank and to the ambulance. Staying at Ray's side Peter put a hand on the stunned man's shoulder. "You okay?"

"I... I don't know." Ray was staring at his blood stained hand and the blood that soaked into the fabric of his sleeves and his legs. "I really don't know."

Peter wrapped his arm around Ray's shoulders and tried to pull him up to his feet. "Come on, let's go meet up at the hospital."

Ray heavily got back to his feet, his legs trembling with fear and uncertainty. "Peter..." He looked over at the smoking trap on the floor. "I'm a terrible person."

"Ray, you're NOT a terrible person." Peter put both hands firmly on Ray's shoulders and stood before him as he spoke. "You did what you had to do to save Egon's life. The ghost is the one who hurt him and you're the one who took care of him, alright? I could hear you talking with the ghost and I know what he told you, you're NOT a backstabber or a liar."

"I... I wish I could believe that."

"Believe it Ray." Peter patted Ray's shoulders once before walking over to the trap and picking it up by its long cable. "I believe you did the right thing. And I always believe that everything you do is always with the best intentions. This guy had his chance a long time ago and ended up paying the ultimate price in the end." He held the trap out at arm's length for Ray to see. "A price that Egon would've paid if you hadn't of done what you've done."

Ray just shook his head as lingering doubt weighed heavily on his mind.

"Come on, Winston is waiting for us." Peter put a hand on Ray's shoulder and pushed him toward the door. "And so is Egon."

* * *

The ride to the hospital was painfully long. Winston drove while Ray and Peter sat in silence in the back of the car. Peter was keeping a brotherly eye on his emotionally conflicted friend, while Winston knew that when Ray was ready to talk he'd open up and pour his heart out.

Rushing into the hospital Peter took the initiative and spoke to the head nurse behind the counter, while Winston sat with Ray in the waiting room.

"Hey Ray," Winston kept his voice low for the sake of sparing Ray's already fragile emotions. "why don't you go into the bathroom and wash off your... well your hands and maybe your clothes."

"Huh?" Ray looked down at his hands stained red with Egon's blood and shivered. The sight of the blood made him feel sick to his stomach. "Oh, man..."

"Come on." Winston offered to take Ray's hand despite the blood. "I'll go with you."

Ray could feel his entire body trembling with fear for Egon's life, guilt over his deception toward the ghost and his nausea over the sight of copious blood tarnishing his being. His cold hand shaking with every negative emotion he could possibly experience in that singular moment he took Winston's warm hand and allowed his friend to escort him to the nearest bathroom to clean up.

Winston pushed open the door to the bathroom and made sure no one was already inside before letting Ray follow him in. "It's clear, you have the whole place to yourself."

Ray stumbled in after Winston, his mind in a daze and his body on autopilot.

Turning on the faucet and making sure the water was warm Winston took Ray's right arm and placed his hand under the flowing tap. The water turned red as it ran over Ray's stained hand, cleaning away the dried blood in a gentle stream.

"Other hand." Winston placed Ray's left hand under the tap beside the right. Rolling up the bloodied sleeves of Ray's jumpsuit Winston waited for Ray to say something or make a motion. "Ray, you still with me?"

Ray nodded slowly, his eyes transfixed on the pale blood circling the drain. "Yeah..."

"Here's some soap," Winston added the cleaning substance to the back of Ray's hands. "and your palms, turn them over."

Ray's shaking hands turned over slowly, his fingers sticking together with blood.

"Wash it off man, you can't just rinse."

Unable to move his hands, the sight of his bloody palms too much for the sensitive man to bear, Winston took a wad of paper towel and began wiping the blood from Ray's hands gently.

The bathroom door was pushed open slightly as Peter looked inside the room. Joining Ray and Winston at the sink he looked down at the bloody mess being slowly cleaned away. "I just talked to the doctor, Egon is up in surgery."

Ray visibly flinched at the words and eyes shut tightly.

"He's lost a lot of blood, but they'd don't expect any complications."

"That's good," Winston tried to resonate optimism in his voice. "it more than likely looked worse than it really was."

Ray remained steadfast and quiet with his hands still under the faucet.

"Look, it'll be a while before Egon's out of surgery," Peter gave Winston a leading glance. "why don't you two head back to the firehouse and take care of the equipment. I'll stay here and I'll call if anything happens."

"Good idea." Winston finished wiping the blood from Ray's hands. "Come on Ray, the sooner the ghosts are locked up the better we'll all feel."

Peter held the door open while Winston took Ray's arm and lead him outside. The keen eyed psychologist knew that Ray was in a bad place mentally. Guilt, anger, fear. Any of those negative emotions could become a destructive state of mind. It'd take the support of his friends to pull him out of his self imposed inner darkness.

Winston drove Ray back to the firehouse, parking the car in the garage. One look at Ray's face told the whole story. Ray was blaming himself for Egon's condition. Without a word of protest or denial or even remorse Ray sat in stone silence while Winston took charge of the bleak situation.

"Why don't you change into some fresh clothes?" Winston suggested softly. "I'll unload the traps and let Janine know what's going on."

"Wait." Ray finally spoke up although his gaze was still a distant stare. "Don't unload all the traps, not yet."

Unsure of Ray's intentions Winston respected his friend's wish. "Okay, I'll take care of the ghost Peter and I nabbed at Central Park."

Nodding once Ray remained seated in Ecto-1 while Winston exited the vehicle. Ray could hear the rear compartment of the car open as Winston retrieved the single trap while leaving the other two undisturbed. The door shut and Ray was left alone with his thoughts.

"I need to do this." Ray decided adamantly as he sat alone. "I owe it to him."

Pushing open his door Ray marched firmly to the rear of the car and pulled open the door. Pulling the two traps from their respective storage compartments he slung the metal boxes over his shoulders and turned to face the basement. Winston had just returned from the lower floor having deposited the Central Park ghost.

Janine was sitting at her desk while Winston updated on her everything that had happened. Ray watched as Janine's eyes went wide with shock and her face paled with fear. Rising to her feet Winston put a reassuringly took her hands in his while offering her words certainty in the uncertain moment.

Ray made his way past the desk, doing his best to keep eye contact with Janine to a minimum to prevent his newly found core from crumbling with her tearful regard. Traversing the basement stairs what could've easily been the thousandth time Ray stood before the vast containment unit and sat one trap on the ground before loading the second into the unit.

"You better appreciate this." The dual occupants of the single trap were locked away inside the unit. The red bulb flashed green overhead while Ray removed the cleaned trap. "All or nothing." Taking in a deep breath Ray stomped down on the trigger for the trap on the floor opening the metallic prison.

Ethereal coin in hand the ghost from the bank emerged from the ionized light in a burst of shadows and palpable anger. Boring his burning red eyes into Ray the ghost loomed angrily over the solitary Ghostbuster.

"See this?" Ray pointed to the containment unit. "Your partners are in there, they're waiting for you."

The ghost understandably doubted Ray's word. Holding its ground the ghost intensified its already menacing presence with a surge in its psychokinetic energy.

"Just... Just look in there!" Ray singled out the viewing window installed on the front of the unit. "If you don't see your partners then go ahead! Do what you want to me!"

At those words the ghost seemed to shrink down in surprise. The dark aura of its form dwindling in depth and blackness.

"I tricked you, yes, but my friend was dying! Wouldn't you do everything you could to save your partners?"

Reticent and mistrustful the ghost studied Ray with acute interest. Sacrificing one's own integrity for the sake of another. Perhaps the ghost and the Ghostbusters had more in common than initially perceived.

Drifting over to the containment unit the ghost peered inside the glass window and into the temporary prison that housed hundreds, if not thousands of wayward ghosts. Among the many lost spirits gathered together the ghost spied two familiar faces, safe and sound within.

"You see them, don't you?"

Turning to face Ray the ghost only nodded.

"You can join them."

After a moment of contemplative consideration the ghost returned to the trap from whence he came. ' _I would like that._ '

"Then, go." Ray put his hand on the small doorway that closed off the trap access port. "No trap needed."

Displaying what could only be described as a long dormant smile the ghost approached Ray and the access port slowly. ' _So you're not a backstabber after all_ ,' The ghost admitted as he flipped his coin high into the air, this time with no intention to catch it. 'y _ou're a clever mastermind_.' On that final note the ghost slipped into the access port as Ray flipped down the doorway.

In a flash of light the ghost was imprisoned but reunited with his partners at long last.

The spectral coin hit the floor at Ray's feet with a unexpectedly heavy 'thud'. Slamming the doorway shut Ray stooped down and picked up the shadowy coin and examined it in his hand. It was an Indian head, buffalo nickel dated from 1924.

Straightening up Ray glanced through the viewing window to the see reunited trio gathered together before vanishing from sight deep into containment unit.

Footsteps coming down the stairs caught Ray's ear. Winston called out for Ray halfway down the steps. "Janine is going to come with us, did you do what you needed to do?"

"Yeah, it's done." Ray closed his fingers around the coin in his hand. "Let me get out of this jumpsuit, I'll join you at the car."

* * *

In the hospital waiting room Peter idly in a chair in the corner with an old magazine clasped between his hands. It had been almost an hour since Egon was wheeled into emergency surgery and about thirty minutes since Winston and Ray returned to the firehouse. Bored and impatient Peter aimlessly flipped through the worn out pages with complete disinterest, his only company was the clumsy carpenter with a nail sticking out of his right hand.

Just as Peter was ready to throw the moldy magazine across the room Ray, Winston and Janine joined him in the waiting room. Ray was no longer wearing his bloodied jumpsuit, just his street clothes; jeans, white t-shirt and a red shirt over top.

"Any news?" Winston asked as he took a seat beside Peter.

"No. He's still in surgery."

Janine spoke up softly. "Winston tells me Egon was attacked by a ghost."

Peter confirmed the story. "Yeah. That's right."

"Oh, God..." She pressed her hand to the side of her face as she leaned down against her elbow on the armrest of the chair. "How many times have you guys been attacked in the line of duty."

"Too many." Peter sighed as he stared at the approaching nurse. "She's either here to give us an update or..."

The nurse escorted the clumsy carpenter into an exam room.

"How I'd love to be a fly on the wall when that guy explains what happened!" His attempt to lighten the mood didn't pass by unappreciated. "I bet a pretty girl was walking by."

"Or he just has bad aim!" Winston tagged on playfully.

Janine wasn't amused by the witty banter of her colleagues, her mind was too preoccupied with another more pressing matter.

Ray could sense her worry and discreetly laid his hand over hers as uncomfortable silence settled in the waiting room.

"It might be a while," Winston noted unpleasantly. "I'm going to go get us all some coffee."

"Good idea." Peter agreed, thankful that there was some distraction being provided for the time being. "I'll give you a hand."

As Winston and Peter took their leave of the room Ray squeezed Janine's hand. "Egon..." he started but soon trailed off only to find his voice again. "he's a lot stronger than most people give him credit for."

Janine lifted her eyes and locked onto Ray. "I know he's strong." She reciprocated warmly. "But that doesn't make it any easier when any of you guys get hurt."

"You really do worry about us, huh?"

"Of course! You do such dangerous work that one else would touch with a ten foot pole, why wouldn't I worry?"

Ray smirked at the question proposed. "You know, I never thought about it before."

"Do you know how much it scares me whenever when of you returns to the firehouse with a bandage on your forehead or crutches under your arms? Thanks to you guys I'll be going gray before I'm even thirty!"

Winston and Peter returned with four cups of coffee in their hands. Peter handed one cup to Janine while keeping the second for himself and Winston offered Ray one of the two coffees he was carrying.

"Cream and sugar, just the way you like it." Winston recounted as he sipped his own coffee.

"Thanks Winston." Ray gave the coffee a quick taste and grimaced at the cheap brand the hospital provided. Setting the cup aside on the nearby table Ray took the coin from his pocket and palmed it nervously.

"Feeling better?"

"I'm getting there." Ray tightened his grip around the coin. "I just wish I knew how Egon was doing."

"We all do, man."

Three hours passed by with little activity in the waiting room. Aside from the clumsy carpenter with the hand injury other people passing through included a skateboarder with a sprained wrist, two women in labor, a kid with a spider bite and a chef in training with a nasty cut on his finger. But at long last a doctor came over to greet the Ghostbusters and update them on Egon's condition.

"Hello, I'm Dr. Ian." The doctor was tall, dark haired, fair skinned and in his early forties. "I understand from Dr. Venkman that you're all friends of Dr. Egon Spengler."

"That's right." Peter confirmed as the group stood up together to greet the doctor. "How's Egon?"

"Stable. It took six blood transfusions to replenish what he lost, and he's responding well to the treatment." The positive response was enough to ease the tension of the four colleagues. "Aside the severe blood loss your friend suffered, the metal debris caused significant damage to the muscles and tendons in his left shoulder, he'll have to support his arm in a sling for about six weeks while the damaged tissue heals. The debris had also penetrated his upper chest cavity which put pressure on his lung, making it difficult to breathe. The necessary insertion of a chest tube will result in lasting pain for some time, but the pain can be managed with proper medication."

Winston's shoulders sagged as he finally relaxed. "Can we see him?"

"Of course. He's been moved from post-op and into recovery. The anesthesia should be wearing off by now, but again the significant blood loss will make him every weak and tired."

Ray, who was still holding Janine's hand, squeezed a little tighter. "We'll take weak and tired over the alternative any day."

Dr. Ian motioned for the group to follow as he lead the way to recovery.

Egon was set up in a single occupant room. The pale blue walls were very calming in contrast to the sight of the machines attached to the recovering man's body. Laying up at a slight angle with his left arm secured in a dark blue sling Egon looked as though he was sleeping peacefully, but his pale complexion made him look sickly and delicate. A nasal canula helped him to breathe and a nearby beeping cardiac monitor kept tracks of his pulse, respiration and blood pressure. His glasses were folded and sitting on the small table beside his bed.

"Take as much time as you need." Dr. Ian told the group as he prepared to leave them with their friend. "But don't push him too much, he needs to rest."

Ray walked over to the bed with Janine and stared at Egon, watching him breathe normally and without any pain etched into his face. "I wonder if he can hear us?"

"Maybe." Winston replied as he joined Ray and Janine. "I once read an article that says it's possible that people in comas can hear their friends and family talking to them, I'm sure that Egon can hear us if he's just coming out of sedation."

"Hey Spengz?" Peter stood at the foot of the bed and spoke loudly. "Can you hear us talking about you? Settle a debate for us, will ya'?"

Janine shot Peter a dirty look which in turn made him flash her his cheesy grin.

Putting his hand on Egon's uninjured arm Ray spoke as confidently as possible. "Egon, I caught that ghost. The bust was successful, you don't have to worry about the bank or anything right now."

Egon's fingertips flexed lightly in response.

Janine saw the movement and gripped Ray's hand as tight as possible. "His hand moved, I saw it!"

Ray smiled and continued speaking. "Come on Egon, wake up. You're going to fine. No one else was hurt, we're just waiting for you to rejoin us."

Steadily Egon's fingers moved again, curling up into a fist and relaxing. Janine tentatively wrapped her fingers around his and squeezed gently. The familiar touch caused a reflex reaction in which Egon squeezed back.

"Egon?" Janine called his name sweetly. "Are you with us?"

Ray patted Egon's arm. "Open your eyes pal, look at us!"

Egon's heavy eyelids fluttered briefly before opening. His eyes were still glazed over but the distant stare was gone. "...Ray?" His voice was low and somewhat slurred, but still understood.

"Yeah, it's me!" Ray almost laughed a little as joy filled his pained heart. "And so is Peter and Winston and Janine! We're all here for you!"

"...What happened?"

"The ghost at the bank." Ray replied firmly. "Do you remember the bank at all?"

Egon blinked a few times as he tried to clear his mental fog. "I remember. There was more than one."

"Yeah, we caught two ghosts and then a third appeared."

"The third ghost," Egon had a vivid memory of the horrid dark figure who menaced the bank. "he tried to hurt you."

"Hurt us." Ray corrected quickly. "I ducked but he managed to hit you with a chunk of metal."

"I remember." Egon closed his eyes. "The ghost wanted us to free his partners."

Ray retracted his hand from Egon's arm. "Don't worry, everything is going to be okay."

Winston interjected positively. "Ray was quick on his feet and took care of everything. As soon as you're medically cleared we're getting you back to the firehouse. It's not the same without you."

Egon looked over at Winston and responded quietly. "It's nice to be wanted."

Peter cleared his throat dramatically. "You have no idea. I hate to break it to you Egon but with your arm out of commission you're not going to be out in the field for some time. You're going to be missed more than you know the next time a Class-5 ghost rears it's ugly head at us!"

Janine slowly let go of Egon's hand. "If that's the case then I can finally have some help with all the paperwork."

Egon arched an eyebrow. "Can I have at least one day to recover before I'm assigned a new task?"

"That's up to the doctor, Spengz." Peter joked. "Speaking of which, I'm going to go track down the good doctor and find out when we can get you out of here and back where you belong..."

* * *

Two days later Egon was released from the hospital but had to adhere to strict guidelines set in place by the doctor. Winston and Ray made sure that Egon took his medication; an antibiotic and a powerful painkiller, in a timely manner while Peter volunteered to keep Egon from doing anything too physically strenuous. Of course with Egon being a man who used his brain more than his brawn it seemed Peter was given the easiest task at hand.

With the help of his colleagues Egon was well on his way to a full recovery, and Janine's abundantly brewed teas seemed to aid in his healing process as well.

Despite all the care and assistance Egon was given daily, if not hourly, he still had some difficult with mundane tasks; such as showering, getting dressed, walking up stairs and sleeping at night. His sore ribs and throbbing shoulder made it incredibly uncomfortable for him to lay down on his bed for extended periods of time. Finding some degree of solace in the rec room Egon often spent his sleepless nights on the couch watching old monster movies

"Egon?" Ray had been sleeping lighter himself, his instincts to look after an injured friend even permeated his sleep pattern. Joining Egon on the couch he stared at the heavy bags under his friend's eyes "You okay?"

"Not quite."

"Still can't sleep, huh?"

"No."

"It's been over a week since you've been back, maybe you need a different dosage in your pain med."

"I doubt a change in medication would do any good for my sleep. In fact my frequent insomnia may actually be a side effect."

"Egon, is there something on your mind?" Ray was too empathetic, too in tuned with his friends to let them slip anything past him.

Rubbing at his bad shoulder Egon leaned back against the couch cushion and turned off the TV. "I've been meaning to ask about the day at the bank, but it never seemed like an opportune time."

"No time like right now, what did you want to know?"

"The ghost wanted us to free his partners," Egon began logically. "he decided to hold us hostage until we agreed to his request. When I became injured I could still hear most of what the ghost was telling you, but I can't recall what happened that resulted in our release."

"I..." Ray was hoping that Egon wouldn't have to know the details of that day, but he sure as well wasn't going to lie to his friend. "I tricked the ghost. I made him think I was going to release his friends from my trap but I used your trap to catch him. I slid it over toward him and as soon as he was close enough I snagged him."

"That would explain it." Egon was satisfied with the answer. "And yet you seemed hesitant to tell me about it. Why?"

"Because..." Ray sighed, feeling a little silly for still being so guilt riddled about deceiving the ghost in the bank. "because after I returned to the firehouse I did something very risky. I let the ghost out of the trap."

"You WHAT?" Egon hadn't expected such an unsound action from Ray.

"But everything turned out okay!" Ray made sure to keep focus on the positive outcome. "I showed him that his partners were okay inside the containment unit and he then decided to join them without incident. Look at this." Ray had kept the ghostly coin in his possession ever since that day. Removing it from his pocket he handed it over to Egon. "He left this behind."

"Curious." Egon studied the coin meticulously. "A sign of respect."

"Or moving on." Ray rubbed at the back of his neck in deep thought. "I've been trying to figure out why he left it behind, it seems like he held onto it forever."

"Maybe that's it." Egon held the coin up between his index and thumb.

"What's it?"

"This coin is a reminder." Egon handed the coin back to Ray. "He wanted you to remember him. He wanted you to remember why you did what you did."

"I don't understand."

"Ray, you didn't have to risk your life by showing him the containment unit, you could've locked him away and he would've been reunited with his friends all the same. But instead you showed him one last act of kindness. The ghost lived in an very inhumane time in history, and yet you gave him one last glimpse of humanity at its finest."

Ray stared down at the coin resting in the palm of his hand. "He said I was clever and a mastermind."

"You are." Egon leaned forward on the couch cushion, trying to get his shoulder to stop aching. "You're also a good friend and partner. I think you reminded him of the same partners he was willing to risk everything to find again."

Closing his fist around the coin Ray felt as though a suffocating weight was lifted from his heart. "Thanks Egon."

"Want to watch the rest of his cheesy movie? It's really bad."

"I'd love to watch it! The badder the better!"

Egon turned back on the TV and the duo sat in silence as they watched the film, simply enjoying each other's company in the security of the firehouse.

 _ **-The End  
**_


End file.
